Chapter 18 · Verse 22 · Moksha Sanyaas Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 18.22
Sanskrit
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्।अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्।।18.22।।
Transliteration
yat tu kṛitsna-vad ekasmin kārye saktam ahaitukam atattvārtha-vad alpaṁ cha tat tāmasam udāhṛitam
In plain words
You know the feeling—spinning in circles, doing, doing, doing, but nothing lands. You're acting from fear or habit instead of understanding, and it leaves you more hollow each time. Krishna says: the busyness that comes from confusion and desperation only deepens the trap. Stop and ask yourself: Am I running toward something real, or just running away from the emptiness? That pause—that honest question—is where freedom begins.
Word by Word
When action becomes a prison of ignorance—when we act without understanding truth, chasing fragmented results with blind intensity—we remain trapped in tamas, the darkest mode of nature. The Gita teaches us that action rooted in delusion, lacking real purpose or wisdom, keeps us bound to cycles of suffering and confusion.
To transcend this, we must examine whether our busyness serves truth or merely soothes our restlessness; in modern life, this means pausing to ask: Am I acting from understanding, or am I just running from emptiness?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 18.22 — BG 18.22
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
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